1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to recording head and recording apparatus in which a plurality of recording elements are divided into a plurality of blocks and each block is driven in a time division fashion.
2. Related Background Art
As a recording head of a printer, a thermal type of ink jet type of head, having a plurality recording elements is known. For example, an ink jet recording head which discharges ink to record data has a plurality of ink discharge nozzles arranged in a line and it is mounted on a carriage of a printer and prints data while it is moved by the carriage. A drive system therefor includes:
(1) a system in which ink is discharged from all nozzles at a time, and
(2) a system in which the nozzles are divided in a plurality of blocks each comprising several nozzles and ink is discharged in the time division fashion.
However, in the time division system of (2) above, the same number of signal lines as the number of blocks are required to specify the blocks to discharge the ink. Further, in a recording head such as a color recording head having a plurality of discharge nozzles integrated in one line, a number of signal lines equal to the number of blocks by the number of lines are required.
Accordingly, a large wiring space and a multi-terminal connector are required for the electrical connection of the carriage and the recording head, this is a barrier to the miniaturization and the cost reduction.